NationStates Jolt Archive

Okay, so I'm kinda tired about talking politics and what not, so here's something new.

I recently found out I was accepted to Creighton University, and that's probably where I'll be attending college as I prepare to enter law and eventually politics, with the ultimate goal of the U.S. Presidency in mind.

If you are applying to colleges, share where you have been admitted. If you are in or have graduated, share your wisdom with the n00bs like me.

Live on campus in the shitty dorms. Eat in the dining halls. Bust your ass during the week so you can party like a rockstar on the weekends. Remember that every class you skip usually costs whomever is paying for your education between $100-300. This will make your naps through class that much better. Don't try to replace your hometown. The first semester is usually rough, and slowly gets better. Everyone else is also going through the same difficulty. Some just hide it better.

Went to Boston University, by the way

Okay, so I'm kinda tired about talking politics and what not, so here's something new.

I recently found out I was accepted to Creighton University, and that's probably where I'll be attending college as I prepare to enter law and eventually politics, with the ultimate goal of the U.S. Presidency in mind.

If you are applying to colleges, share where you have been admitted. If you are in or have graduated, share your wisdom with the n00bs like me.

what exactly is it you want to know? I don't know anything about Creighton University, never heard of them...

Your best bet is to go to a trade school, learn a skill that's very highly sought after. Like electricians, plumbing, etc. That way, you'll have a recession proofed job, and you can make some decent cash.

Okay, so I'm kinda tired about talking politics and what not, so here's something new.

I recently found out I was accepted to Creighton University, and that's probably where I'll be attending college as I prepare to enter law and eventually politics, with the ultimate goal of the U.S. Presidency in mind.

If you are applying to colleges, share where you have been admitted. If you are in or have graduated, share your wisdom with the n00bs like me.

If you're planning to attend Law School in the United States, remember that LSAC, the Law School Admission Council, counts any "W" (withdrawal) on your transcript as an "F" for the purposes of calculating your UGPA.

In calculating that number, they also include all undergraduate collegiate work you did up until being awarded your degree. Graduate program grades, etc, are great and help your application, but they do not contribute to your UGPA as reported by LSAC to the Law Schools you apply to.

So, if you drop classes, drop BEFORE the date after which your school puts a "W" for that class on your transcript. Because otherwise, it counts as an F.
(Unless they change things by the time you apply).

what exactly is it you want to know? I don't know anything about Creighton University, never heard of them...

Jesuit school, located in Omaha, Nebraska. Has one of the best medical schools in the nation, and has a very, very good law school to boot.

I live in Omaha, so it's kinda nice to have the close location.

I really just kinda want to know any advice on what to do in college, like not procrastinating, partying, that sort of crap.

Also, if you plan on going into law, do not major in pre-law in college. Don't. You will learn nothing that you won't learn in law school.

If you're planning to attend Law School in the United States, remember that LSAC, the Law School Admission Council, counts any "W" (withdrawal) on your transcript as an "F" for the purposes of calculating your UGPA.

In calculating that number, they also include all undergraduate collegiate work you did up until being awarded your degree. Graduate program grades, etc, are great and help your application, but they do not contribute to your UGPA as reported by LSAC to the Law Schools you apply to.

So, if you drop classes, drop BEFORE the date after which your school puts a "W" for that class on your transcript. Because otherwise, it counts as an F.
(Unless they change things by the time you apply).

I didn't know that. That's actually pretty good advice. I'm gonna save that information.

I didn't know that. That's actually pretty good advice. I'm gonna save that information.

I teach the LSAT (US law school entrance exam) for Kaplan, a test prep company.

A lot of what I'm telling you could change in four or more years, so take it with a grain of salt.

Also, if you plan on going into law, do not major in pre-law in college. Don't. You will learn nothing that you won't learn in law school.

Yeah, I'd agree with that.

Are there many schools that still do "pre-law"? A lot of undergrad programs I've had students from don't even offer it anymore.

Same with "pre-med". Now they offer various "pre-professional" emphases in other degrees like Biology or Chemistry.

Live on campus in the shitty dorms. Eat in the dining halls. Bust your ass during the week so you can party like a rockstar on the weekends. Remember that every class you skip usually costs whomever is paying for your education between $100-300. This will make your naps through class that much better. Don't try to replace your hometown. The first semester is usually rough, and slowly gets better. Everyone else is also going through the same difficulty. Some just hide it better.

I agree. I would add that hangovers and early-morning German classes do not make a good mix.

Your best bet is to go to a trade school, learn a skill that's very highly sought after. Like electricians, plumbing, etc. That way, you'll have a recession proofed job, and you can make some decent cash.

I disagree, and boo you for the naysaying!

Same with "pre-med". Now they offer various "pre-professional" emphases in other degrees like Biology or Chemistry.

Pretty sure we didn't have a "pre-med" major. Most of my pre-med friends majored in Biochem.

Pretty sure we didn't have a "pre-med" major. Most of my pre-med friends majored in Biochem.

Yeah, my friend who teaches the MCAT section says a lot of high-end MCAT scores come out of the same major.

But I guess technically, as long as you have certain classes (Is it two semesters each of chem, o-chem, bio, calc, physics, english, and maybe one of psych?) you can apply to US med, even if your major is history.

Yeah, my friend who teaches the MCAT section says a lot of high-end MCAT scores come out of the same major.

But I guess technically, as long as you have certain classes (Is it two semesters each of chem, o-chem, bio, calc, physics, english, and maybe one of psych?) you can apply to US med, even if your major is history.

I don't remember the psych specifically, but everyone at my school took Psych of Women, pretty much--kind of an unwritten rule, along with Female Physiology. Lots of boyfriends in that class.

I don't remember the psych specifically, but everyone at my school took Psych of Women

How can you fill three hours a week hearing about PMS?

How can you fill three hours a week hearing about PMS?

It's just the same damned lecture. Over. And over. And over again.

How can you fill three hours a week hearing about PMS?
There's more to female psychology than PMS. There's that thing where women go crazy and drown/incinerate/decapitate/stab/eat their children.

I agree. I would add that hangovers and early-morning German classes do not make a good mix.

being still drunk (or more, still shitfaced) and early morning Spanish summer classes are also not a good mix.

Oh, and accept that your roommate may sexile you every now and then. Respect it, and find a friend with a futon. Also, be a good roommate and a) don't sexile your roommate too often and b) try to give them fair warning.

There's more to female psychology than PMS. There's that thing where women go crazy and drown/incinerate/decapitate/stab/eat their children.

oh right right, crazy baby momma disease.

I'm going to college at a community college right now.

Please feel free to laugh.

Find out if your profs let you record their lectures. If so, it helps. If not, find a way to do it anyhoo.

Find out if your profs let you record their lectures. If so, it helps. If not, find a way to do it anyhoo.

best method: don't bother asking and get a small tape recorder or way to record onto your ipod. Really, they'll never notice.

Oh, and accept that your roommate may sexile you every now and then. Respect it, and find a friend with a futon. Also, be a good roommate and a) don't sexile your roommate too often and b) try to give them fair warning.
Anyone who can't perform with someone else six feet below (or above, or to the left of or right of) them can rent themselves a damned hotel room.

best method: don't bother asking and get a small tape recorder or way to record onto your ipod. Really, they'll never notice.

Technology has come a long way since I went. It's certainly much easier to find a 'small' recorder these days. One that doesn't click and hum and require you to flip over the tape halfway through class.

Also, I endorse the "Better to beg forgiveness, than to ask permission" method. :wink:

Technology has come a long way since I went. It's certainly much easier to find a 'small' recorder these days. One that doesn't click and hum and require you to flip over the tape halfway through class.

Also, I endorse the "Better to beg forgiveness, than to ask permission" method. :wink:
Ask, best case is they say yes. Worst is you still do it and they get royally pissed.
Do, best case is they find out and don't give a shit. Worst is you say "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize. My bad". And you continue to do it anyway.
Anyone who can't perform with someone else six feet below (or above, or to the left of or right of) them can rent themselves a damned hotel room.
I never had an issue. *shrug*

I'm going to college at a community college right now.

Please feel free to laugh.

Yeah, you're saving money while getting a good beginning on a degree! Ha ha?

I never had an issue. *shrug*
It annoyed me during my freshman year. I tried to put up with my roommate's prudery, but that shit got old fast.
Fortunately my sophomore roommate was the sexually ambiguous sort, and I moved on to living in a single for junior and (my current) senior year.

It annoyed me during my freshman year. I tried to put up with my roommate's prudery, but that shit got old fast.
Fortunately my sophomore roommate was the sexually ambiguous sort, and I moved on to living in a single for junior and (my current) senior year.
I sexiled my roommate once. and that was only because he wasn't comfortable in there.

My sophomore year, my roommate tried to sexile me. I wasn't pleased. I turned on the light, blasted Cradle of Filth, and waited untill the girl left, only to say "Sorry. I have work at 5 AM and an exam at 8, which he knew about."

I never really got along with him though, and this was just another chance to fuck with him.

Yeah, you're saving money while getting a good beginning on a degree! Ha ha?

I was actually being facetious. :tongue: (Though I did honestly expect some to laugh, what with how much they made fun of Sarah Palin for going to community college.)

Well I went to (and indeed still am, ah the joys of a PhD) to uni in the UK, so much of what I say probably won't apply - the systems and experiences are probably very different.

Nonetheless, things I learnt from Uni:
- Moving out of Halls and into a shared rented house was the best thing I ever did. Though if you do that (assuming you can) make sure you get decent housemates. It gives you a lot more independence and it's a lot easier to tell your housemates to turn the noise down when you have an exam than the person you hardly know down the hall.
- Work consistently throughout your degree - may seem a no-brainer but I know too many people who took it very easy in their first year and then spent the rest of their degree trying to catch up (irrespective of it their first year counted or not).
- Societies are the best way to make friends - find a society or two related to an interest you like and go along (I did the Science-Fiction and Fantasy society for example) and just get chating to people. Societies are usually very open to new people at the beginning of the year as often a lot of older people have left and thye need to keep their membership up. However, the later on in term you go along, the more likely people will have formed cliques, so get in early.
- Alcohol is not your friend - learn your limits and learn to drink responsibly. It's oh so tempting to go over-board when you first get the Uni, but you will regret it.
- Avoid the rugby clubs, they are inevitably filled with dicks. (I'd say that can probably go quite well for the American Football teams in the US).
- Don't rely on all-nighters. I mean it. It may be tempting to leave it all to the last minute but the quality of work will suffer. Get stuff done early as you can and make sure you always get as good a night sleep as possible before exams - that last minute cramming won't help as much as 8 hours solid sleep.

Okay, so I'm kinda tired about talking politics and what not, so here's something new.

I recently found out I was accepted to Creighton University, and that's probably where I'll be attending college as I prepare to enter law and eventually politics, with the ultimate goal of the U.S. Presidency in mind.

If you are applying to colleges, share where you have been admitted. If you are in or have graduated, share your wisdom with the n00bs like me.

lucky bastard lots of girls there in school to be a nurse. ply you i am going to be a lawyer game right and you will never want for female company.

Well I went to (and indeed still am, ah the joys of a PhD) to uni in the UK, so much of what I say probably won't apply - the systems and experiences are probably very different.

Nonetheless, things I learnt from Uni:
- Moving out of Halls and into a shared rented house was the best thing I ever did. Though if you do that (assuming you can) make sure you get decent housemates. It gives you a lot more independence and it's a lot easier to tell your housemates to turn the noise down when you have an exam than the person you hardly know down the hall.

That depends. In halls me and my hallmates all became very close friends and we could tell each other to quieten down whenever needed. I live in a house now but the isolation from the rest of the university means I will probably apply to be a hall rep next year.

- Work consistently throughout your degree - may seem a no-brainer but I know too many people who took it very easy in their first year and then spent the rest of their degree trying to catch up (irrespective of it their first year counted or not).

This. It's incredibly easy to fall behind on university work. I admit that in my first year I almost paid for it but I got my act together and did my work.

- Societies are the best way to make friends - find a society or two related to an interest you like and go along (I did the Science-Fiction and Fantasy society for example) and just get chating to people. Societies are usually very open to new people at the beginning of the year as often a lot of older people have left and thye need to keep their membership up. However, the later on in term you go along, the more likely people will have formed cliques, so get in early.

Also this. I've met great people through the Comedy society and it gets you much more involved within the university itself.

- Alcohol is not your friend - learn your limits and learn to drink responsibly. It's oh so tempting to go over-board when you first get the Uni, but you will regret it.

Plus its a big money spender. I drink socially but very rarely get drunk. If you're going to drink, maybe stop when you are slightly tipsy. That way you enjoy the night, remember it and reduce the risk of hangover.

- Avoid the rugby clubs, they are inevitably filled with dicks. (I'd say that can probably go quite well for the American Football teams in the US).

Have to disagree with that. I know a lot of people in the rugby club and the majority are nice guys willing to help out. I'm not a sporting person. The old jock stereotype is becoming a lot rarer. Meet people from all sorts of backgrounds.

- Don't rely on all-nighters. I mean it. It may be tempting to leave it all to the last minute but the quality of work will suffer. Get stuff done early as you can and make sure you always get as good a night sleep as possible before exams - that last minute cramming won't help as much as 8 hours solid sleep.

Also agreed. As soon as you are set an assignment get the research done. You don't necessarily have to write the paper at the same time but having all the research prepared makes writing a paper a lot easier.

I was actually being facetious. :tongue: (Though I did honestly expect some to laugh, what with how much they made fun of Sarah Palin for going to community college.)

are you running for vice president?

Okay, so I'm kinda tired about talking politics and what not, so here's something new.

I recently found out I was accepted to Creighton University, and that's probably where I'll be attending college as I prepare to enter law and eventually politics, with the ultimate goal of the U.S. Presidency in mind.

If you are applying to colleges, share where you have been admitted. If you are in or have graduated, share your wisdom with the n00bs like me.

This is going to sound like a hackneyed cliche, but: YOU WILL GET FROM COLLEGE WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT.

It matters not so much which college you attend, but rather the effort you exert towards your education.

My advice is to treat it like a 9 to 5 job (with some needed overtime). Get in the habit of getting up early, going to all your classes, studying between and after classes, etc.

I say this as someone who fucked around in college (slept through classes, etc) and who (after working menial jobs for a few years) treated law school like a job with regular hours. My undergrad and law school transcripts reflect the effort -- as does the difference in job prospects and accolades after the completion of each level of schooling.

My advice is to treat it like a 9 to 5 job (with some needed overtime). Get in the habit of getting up early, going to all your classes, studying between and after classes, etc.


I did this through most of my undergrad and certainly all my PhD (although this is more 9 till 6/7 and then some) and it is really really worth it. It meant I had most of my evenings and generally all my week-ends free (barring exams of course) and teaches you good self-discipline.

That depends. In halls me and my hallmates all became very close friends and we could tell each other to quieten down whenever needed. I live in a house now but the isolation from the rest of the university means I will probably apply to be a hall rep next year.

Fair cop, I think it can really depend on where the university is based and how the halls are laid out. York is a very small city, so you'll never really end up that isolated from the student community if you are living anywhere on the University side of the city.

Have to disagree with that. I know a lot of people in the rugby club and the majority are nice guys willing to help out. I'm not a sporting person. The old jock stereotype is becoming a lot rarer. Meet people from all sorts of backgrounds.

Hmm... could just be our rugby club then. The girls one is nice, but the boys clud I have to say I mostly know from their drunken nights out, making the campus bars unlivable for the rest of us. I think it really can depend on the uni culture.

I'm studying astrophysics at Florida Tech, which is a fairly hardcore tech school.

Among the things we don't have at my school:
- Huge frat parties. The Greeks do a good job at making themselves visible, but they don't have a reputation for partying, and they are most definitely the minority. The sci-fi society I'm a part of has a long-running rivalry with the Greeks.
- Humanities majors, except for a few guys in the ROTC program.
- A ton of girls. The male-female ratio here is pretty lopsided, and the girls tend to get snapped up pretty quickly, so finding a single girl is even harder. The majority of the girls are marine biologists, and the majority of the ones who are not are forensic psychologists.
- Giant lectures. The school has an absolute class size cap of 50.
- A football team. One of the T-shirts available in the bookstore says "Florida Tech Football: Still Undefeated".

A few tips:
- If you can, room with friends. If you can get a private room, do so. I live in a suite on campus with two of my closest friends and a fourth guy who keeps to himself, and I have a private room. The kitchen is also a bonus.
- Make use of academic support services. Set up weekly tutoring sessions for all your classes. If that's not possible, at least do so prior to exams.
- Make sure all your professors know your name.
- If you have learning disabilities, speak to academic support services about accomodations, preferably when you're visiting the college before applying. Make sure your professors are aware of your special needs.
- Always put the effort in for class. I didn't my second semester, and my grades suffered. Badly.
- If you find you like a professor, try to establish a friendship outside of class. Stop by their office to say hi, even if you're no longer in their classes. This goes double for professors in administrative positions.
- Try not to eat alone if you're in the cafeteria. Sit down next to someone you've never met before, and strike up a conversation.
- If you want to watch TV, but do not have a TV set, do not immediately go to the cafeteria to use their set. If there is a sporting event on, people will not let you change it. Find a less public set (my dorm's laundry room has one for some reason, and I use that).
- Finally, if you take Observational Astronomy at night, wear warm clothing, including gloves.